Ready for PC Andrew Harper's murderers' early release: The traveller site that harboured hero cop's killers has £4.2m taxpayer-funded facelift

By JAMES FIELDING, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 09:28, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 09:28, 2 August 2026 It was the squalid traveller camp which the killers of PC Andrew Harper turned into a stronghold for their criminal enterprises and went on to use as a hideout after they fled the scene of the horror.  In the wake of the tragedy, the grief-stricken family of the fallen hero led calls for the camp to be dismantled.  Instead, the families who harboured the sneering killers as they hid and burned evidence linking them to the crime have been 'rewarded' with a £4.2million handout funded by the taxpayer.  The cash has been spent on a major revamp of the Four Houses Corner site which is surrounded by woodland and set in a country lane close to the Berkshire village of Burghfield Common.  Now, residents living nearby fear it will provide a safe haven, and a welcoming home, for two of PC Harper's killers after it emerged that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers could be released early from jail.  One told the Daily Mail: 'These people have never shown any remorse for their appalling crimes. They are killers and it's sickening that they could be walking the streets at any moment.  'It beggars belief that the local council seem to be facilitating their return to the scene of their crimes - and it's costing us millions.  'It shows nothing but contempt for local people and is shamefully disrespectful to PC Harper's family who were very much against this.'  It was the squalid traveller camp (pictured, following the recent renovations) which the killers of PC Andrew Harper turned into a stronghold for their criminal enterprises and went on to use as a hideout after they fled the scene of the horror And the families who harboured the killers as they hid and burned evidence linking them to the crime have now been 'rewarded' with a £4.2million handout funded by the taxpayer The cash has been spent on a major revamp of the Four Houses Corner site (pictured, post-transformation) which is surrounded by woodland and set in a country lane close to the Berkshire village of Burghfield Common Now, residents living nearby fear it will provide a safe haven, and a welcoming home, for two of PC Harper's killers after it emerged that Jessie Cole (centre) and Albert Bowers (left) could be released early from jail. Pictured: The pair leaving court in September 2019  PC Harper (pictured, with his wife, Lissie), 28, was killed in the line of duty after he was dragged to his death behind the gang's getaway car in August 2019 The controversial development, overseen by the local authority, has been bitterly opposed by residents, while PC Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, 59, branded it an insult to her son's memory.  After the camp was given the go-ahead, Debbie said: 'They want to give them [the killers] back their normal lives.  'We can't start our lives again. You can't start Andrew's life again. Life for us is never, ever, going to be the same.'  She said travellers living inside Four Houses Corner had celebrated the gang's lenient sentences – and had continued to taunt officers over the killing.  Debbie said: 'It's just so disrespectful. Certain family members helped them. Praising how brilliant their boys were. That's not normal human behaviour. That's not the way any decent human being would react.  'If they think their sons are heroes for killing somebody, that speaks for who they are.'  Last year, families began moving into the revamped camp, which features 17 modern residential pitches with their own 20-square-metre amenity buildings, consisting of a kitchen, bathroom, living space and utility area.  Each pitch has enough space for two caravans and two further parking spaces, with provisions for electric car chargers.  The site – which was cleared for the revamp to take place – also has a new children's play area.  When the plans were drawn up in 2023, 12 of the original families who lived there confirmed they would be returning, while officials were waiting to hear from a further five families over whether they wanted to go back.  Official documents show plans for the site, which only has one entrance and exit, were drawn up to create 'a radial design' which would provide 'clear lines of sight' to all pitches for emergency vehicles and would ensure they would not 'get trapped in dead-ends'.  PC Harper, 28, was killed in the line of duty after he was dragged to his death behind the gang's getaway car in August 2019.  He encountered Cole, Bowers and ringleader Henry Long along a country lane as he responded to a 999 call after the gang stole a £10,000 quad bike from a nearby home.  After getting out of his vehicle to investigate, his feet became caught in a strap the gang had used to tow the stolen machine.  PC Harper suffered catastrophic injuries after he was 'swung from side to side like a pendulum' as Long roared off to flee the scene.  The officer – who had married his childhood sweetheart Lissie just four weeks earlier and was due to set off for a honeymoon in the Maldives – had responded to the call with a colleague despite their shift overrunning by four hours.  When his body was found three miles from the camp, where the gang had set off from that night, he was naked apart from his socks and boots and some shredded remnants of the trousers he was wearing.  At the time of the killing, Bowers and Cole were aged just 17, while Long was 18.  Having known each other since childhood, they spent much of their time at the camp, which was home to close relatives of Cole and Long.  The controversial development, overseen by the local authority, has been bitterly opposed by residents, while PC Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, 59, branded it an insult to her son's memory. Pictured: The site in 2023, prior to the revamp  Last year, families began moving into the revamped camp (pictured, in plans), which features 17 modern residential pitches with their own 20-square-metre amenity buildings PC Harper encountered Cole (centre), Bowers (right) and ringleader Henry Long (left) along a country lane as he responded to a 999 call after the gang stole a £10,000 quad bike from a nearby home At first, Long denied being involved in the killing, claiming he had been watching Hollywood blockbuster movie The Fast and the Furious – which features a gang of criminals escaping in high-powered getaway cars – in a caravan with his aunt, uncle and cousins on the evening of the tragedy.  Cole is thought to be a member of the largest extended family living on the site.  A number of residents had previously complained that they had been forced to live in houses while the council carried out previous refurbishment works on the 17 caravans authorised on the compound.  At the time of the killing, all three youths lived in social housing with their parents.  Despite their young ages, the trio, along with another friend, were already well-established in crime and used the camp as a base for their lawless sprees.  Three members of the gang clubbed together to buy a beaten-up Seat Toledo – the vehicle used on the night of the killing. They paid £150 for the car which had the 'sole purpose' for use on 'thieving expeditions' and was equipped with tools used to break into sheds or to remove padlocks and chains from gates to compounds.  The gang also carried balaclavas and gloves and were armed with an axe, crowbars and a length of pipe to use against anyone who tried to stop them.  They also used tape to disguise number plates during daylight and disconnected lights at night to make them less visible in the event of a police pursuit.  Serial burglar Long, who was taken out of school aged 12 and made his living entirely out of crime, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather when he began thieving. He specialised in stealing quad bikes and machinery and had four convictions as a juvenile, which included battery, being drunk and disorderly and shoplifting.  Bowers had a keen interest in hare coursing and had convictions as a juvenile, including for sexual assault by touching, possession of an offensive weapon, battery, criminal damage and a racially aggravated public order offence.  Cole had no previous convictions and claimed he had joined the others as he was scared. But a year after he was jailed over PC Harper's killing, Cole was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for stealing another quad bike the day before the tragedy.  The vehicle was discovered when police raided the camp and arrested the gang in the aftermath of PC Harper's killing. After the gang was jailed, police told how the killers lived a lifestyle 'based on criminality' and believed they were 'untouchable' as they tormented locals through a wave of burglaries and vandalism.  The detective leading the investigation described the camp as 'the focal point of where their criminality started and finished'. Officers told how the local traveller community sought to thwart their investigation at every turn.  When Long was arrested after the getaway car was found at the camp, he complained that he was a victim of discrimination against travellers.  During their Old Bailey trial in 2020, the defendants laughed and smirked as horrific details of PC Harper's death were revealed. There was further outrage at the leniency of the sentencing of the gang, who were cleared of murder charges but convicted of manslaughter.  Long was jailed for 16 years, while Bowers and Cole each received 13-year sentences. A move by then attorney general Suella Braverman to have their sentences increased on the grounds that they were 'unduly lenient' was rejected by the Court of Appeal.  PC Harper's family, led by Lissie, now 35, insisted the sentences did not 'reflect the barbarity' of the crime and continued their battle for justice. It led to the introduction of Harper's Law – which introduced mandatory life sentences for criminals convicted of the manslaughter of frontline emergency workers.  While the family's powerful voices led to the new legislation, Debbie's complaints fell on deaf ears when she told how revamping the camp was an 'insult to her son's memory'.  Addressing councillors at a meeting in November 2023, she said: 'I have to speak up, I can't take this lying down, for Andrew, his memory and particularly the colleagues of Andrew.'  She told how the plans would traumatise officers, including her son's former colleagues, saying: 'They remain haunted by what they saw that night. They were there, they have to live with what they've seen. That connection to the site will exist always for us and for the police community. Addressing councillors at a meeting about the development in November 2023, PC Harper's mother Debbie said: 'I have to speak up, I can't take this lying down, for Andrew, his memory and particularly the colleagues of Andrew' 'Who is going to live there, should it be approved? What we've seen from people resident there at the time is nothing short of appalling to be quite honest. We've had no sense of empathy from their community whatsoever.  'In a few short years, the people who are actually responsible are going to be back out on the street. There's been concerns with the police about that site for quite a long time in the past. The police have been there regularly.  'They've had their tyres slashed, their windows broken and they've had to turn up in pairs for their own safety. Now, that cannot be right and what worries me is that I know in recent times there's been events where the police have had to attend and they're ridiculing those police officers because of the death of Andrew.  'We have to live knowing these things happen now, and my concern is for the mental health of officers who will still have to go up there and some were friends of Andrew who saw the absolute devastation that his body endured.  'My worry is if this reopens on the same site, it's brushing it aside. Anybody who thinks they know how bad it was, think again. It was an awful lot worse than you actually realise.'  PC Harper's uncle, Paul Shrimpton, has also advocated for plans to be blocked, writing: 'It's a stone's throw away from where he drew his last breath. To even think of re-opening the site so close is abhorrent and utterly disrespectful.  'This is the ONLY place that we as his family can go to feel close to him, and the things placed there as a memorial are precious. Reopening this site places them, the location, and our ability to feel we are with him at serious risk.  'Out of respect for Andrew, his family (for whom this will never go away) and all those in the local community who felt the pain of his loss so deeply, please stop this plan immediately, and declare this site permanently closed down.'  They were among 50 formal objections – including one from Thames Valley Police. But West Berkshire Council gave the camp the go-ahead, saying there was nowhere else for the travellers to go.  Now, Debbie has been forced to speak out again after receiving a letter from the Ministry of Justice informing her Cole and Bowers are being considered for early release after serving half their sentences under a scheme aiming to free up space in jails.  Debbie said the move was an 'insult beyond anything able to be put into words'. Fearing the move would lead to fresh 'celebrations' in the camp, she added: 'It makes me feel sick. Andrew's life doesn't get to come back. It feels like a slap in the face and an insult.'  Lissie also hit out at the move, saying: 'It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable. We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.'  In the wake of growing anger, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced he was reviving the programme.  Prison bosses are now understood to have been told to pause planning for the scheme set to begin in September.  Meanwhile, West Berkshire Council defended the camp redevelopment, saying: 'Four Houses Corner Caravan Site has been a formal traveller's site for many years.  Now, Cole and Bowers are being considered for early release after serving half their sentences under a scheme aiming to free up space in jails – which Lissie (pictured, with PC Harper) has called 'deplorable' 'We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite,' she said  'This site has been redeveloped and operational since September and provides important homes for the Gypsy and Traveller community. We need to deliver traveller accommodation and ensure we meet legal requirements. Suitable alternative sites do not exist in West Berkshire.  'Since the site re-opened, no specific concerns regarding site management have been raised directly with the council. Since the site re-opened, we have been working closely with tenants, local residents, the local community and partner organisations to support the successful and smooth running of the site.  'We're confident the arrangements we have in place are appropriate and will keep these under review to ensure they remain so.'